T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) Executive Director Deb Millizer addresses the Board of Supervisors during Wednesday morning’s meeting. Pending MCBD board approval, the supervisors approved the sale of the Marshall County Bandshell to the nonprofit organization for $1.

Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer came before the Marshall County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday morning to make the pitch that her organization should take over ownership of the county’s bandshell structure, and she ultimately found a receptive audience as a $1 transaction was unanimously agreed upon pending MCBD board approval.

As Millizer stepped to the speaking podium, she thanked the supervisors for fostering a welcome atmosphere at their meetings and shared that her husband, Jail Lt. Wendell Millizer, works under the supervision of Sheriff Joel Phillips, who was in attendance. She also mentioned her involvement with the design committee on the Marshall County Veterans Memorial project as momentum on the fundraising is steadily progressing.

From there, she segued into the bandshell discussion, noting that the Iowa Wild/MARSHALLTOWN Co. ice rink on the city-owned lot at 1 W. Main St. had recently been taken down for the season. Although the weather mostly failed to produce suitable skating conditions during an unusually mild winter, Millizer touted as a strong example of collaboration between governmental agencies, nonprofits and private companies, and the lights donated by Alliant Energy gave her the idea to utilize the lot, which is for sale and could change ownership at some point in the future, and bring foot traffic there in the spring and summer months.

Acquiring the bandshell, Millizer thought, would allow for music events on the lot and give the county a chance to offload an asset it has possessed since 2003.

“I think that if the Marshalltown Central Business District was able to obtain the bandshell, that we would be able to not only utilize it publicly in the downtown on a more regular basis, but I also think that through volunteerism and community partnerships, that we could make it more readily available at a lower price so that other organizations could use it more readily,” she said.

For nonprofits, she said, simply covering the cost of renting the bandshell can be challenging, and Millizer added that her dream is to have the bandshell wrapped to make it more artistic and place some light landscaping around it. From its home in downtown Marshalltown, it could be transported to other Marshall County communities like State Center for its Rose Festival, and Millizer has already engaged in a preliminary conversation with the Arts+Culture Alliance about sponsoring musical events.

Another idea was to host music downtown over the lunch hour once a week, and she asked the supervisors to consider “rehoming” the bandshell to the MCBD. Supervisors Chair Jarret Heil said the bandshell had been “a lot of work” for county staff to maintain and transport, indicating that they were definitely not opposed to the idea of passing that responsibility to another entity.

However, he did want to ensure that the spirit of the original donations to get it in the first place would be honored, and he hoped it could be used in other Marshall County communities and at the fairgrounds. Millizer felt she had the volunteers to help move it and set it up, and she would still charge some sort of fee for rental to keep a maintenance fund intact. Currently, she said it needs new lights, general cleaning and new graphics, and Millizer said she would work on sponsorships.

“I very much want to make this available so other people can use it. Now, I am a nonprofit so I have limited resources, so it would have to be partnerships. We would have to figure out a partnership on how to get it done,” she said. “I know that that bandshell was $100,000 when it was purchased. I know that it’s 21 years old so it doesn’t have that value anymore, but it has a lot of value to the community. And I really do want to honor those that did put in all the work to raise those funds. That’s not a drop in the bucket to be able to raise that money, so I want to honor that but I want to give it new life. I want to give it new life and make it available for more people to use.”

Marshall County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke agreed that the bandshell is a community asset and said the county charges a flat rental fee to cover man hours, setting it up and moving it around, including using the secondary roads staff when it has to go somewhere other than downtown Marshalltown. The $450 per use, he added, “doesn’t really” cover the cost, and Baedke said he would be happy to train someone new on how to use the structure.

Supervisor Carol Hibbs asked for clarification on whether the MCBD would take ownership of the bandshell (Millizer responded affirmatively), whether it could still be used in Marshall County communities outside of the city and if a $1 transaction would need to be made for legal purposes.

Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson responded that she had spoken to County Attorney Jordan Gaffney about it, and they were all in agreement on needing to make the exchange. Benson and Millizer felt the insurance costs were reasonable, and Millizer said she would need to charge for other communities to use it in the event that repairs are needed.

Millizer didn’t want to “put the cart before the horse” but expressed confidence that her board would support the transaction, and the MCBD team was excited about the prospects of taking ownership of the bandshell.

“I think this is a great idea. Is managing a bandshell really the purpose of government? It can be if it’s necessary, but in this case, I think it can be run better with your group and a group of volunteers,” Heil said. “So that just makes the most sense, I think, especially for a bandshell.”

Without any further hurdles remaining, Hibbs made a motion to proceed with the sale for $1 pending the approval of the MCBD board, and it passed by a unanimous vote.

• Approved the consent agenda as listed, including a status change for Sara Badger from auditor/recorder assistant-real estate lead to assistant auditor/recorder-real estate, full time from $23.75 to $24.50 an hour and the hire of Sara Epperson as an RN for the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department at a rate of $31 per hour.

• Approved the renewal of an alcohol license for the Collison Par 3 Golf Course.

• Approved the appointment of Sara Badger to the position of assistant auditor and recorder-real estate.

• Approved the Highway 14 detour agreement with the Iowa DOT from Sept. 2, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024 for a culvert replacement between 280th and 290th streets south of Marshalltown.

• During the public forum period, County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt reported that he had spoken with farmers around the Canfield Avenue railroad crossing west of State Center who use it for agricultural purposes, and based on those conversations, the county is no longer interested in closing the crossing to accommodate a new Alliant Energy substation.

• Also during the public comment period, County Assessor Blaze Wurr shared that he has a vacancy on his Board of Review and was seeking a “semi-retired farmer” who would be available four or five times during the month of May to hear property assessment appeals.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.